The present invention relates generally to hollow body stringed instrument fabrication techniques, and more specifically to techniques for fabricating stringed instrument body components.
Hollow body stringed instruments, such as violins, cellos, upright basses, acoustic guitars, and the like, as well as pianos, organs and other keyboard instruments, have traditionally been fabricated from solid hardwoods, and wood species for the various instrument components have typically been carefully selected by luthiers to achieve a balance of strength, hardness, tone and other properties. In the steel string, flat top, acoustic guitar industry, for example, choices for guitar tops (or soundboards) typically focus on the tonal properties of the wood, and soundboards are commonly selected from a variety of known tone woods such as spruce, cedar, Koa, mahogany, and the like. Wood choices for other body components, such as the guitar backs and sides, typically take into consideration not only the tonal properties of the wood but its aesthetic appearance as well. Many hardwood varieties have accordingly been used to construct acoustic guitar backs and sides including, for example, mahogany, rosewood, ash, Koa, ebony, maple, and the like.
Regardless of the types and/or species of woods selected for hollow body stringed instrument construction, such wood must not only satisfy tonal objectives, but must also possess a combination of strength and hardness that is sufficient to withstand tension applied thereto by the plurality of strings and bracing arrangements while resisting deformation, cracking and deleterious effects associated with changes in, and extremes of, temperature and humidity. Wood for hollow body stringed instrument construction is typically prepared from quarter-sawn (e.g., vertical grain) hardwood lumber as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Referring to FIG. 1, an end view of a typical log 10 is shown with a characteristic concentric grain pattern 10a. Quarter-sawn sheets or boards 12 are cut from log 10 such that the grain pattern 10a runs generally parallel with the longitudinal axis 10b of board 12. Sheets 14 of thickness d1 are then sliced from board 12, as shown in FIG. 2, wherein d1 typically ranges between 0.08 and 0.125 inches. Book matched sheets 14a and 14b are then typically joined via an appropriate bonding medium to form the instrument top or back 16 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Although not specifically illustrated in the drawings, the instrument sides are likewise typically book matched and joined via an appropriate bonding medium during construction of the instrument body.
Over the years, luthiers have made various attempts to depart from the traditional solid wood hollow body stringed instrument construction shown and described hereinabove for various reasons. Referring to FIG. 4, for example, one such alternative construction is illustrated wherein a hollow body stringed instrument body component 15 (e.g., top, back or side) is shown in cross section as comprising a lamination of two veneers 14c and 14d, each typically having thickness d2, wherein veneers 14c and 14d are bonded together using a suitable bonding medium with the grain patterns of veneers 14c and 14d arranged transverse to each other for increased strength and resistance to cracking. Another example of an alternative construction of a hollow body stringed instrument body component 15xe2x80x2 is illustrated in FIG. 5 as comprising a wood core member 18, having thickness d3, sandwiched between two veneers 14e and 14f, each typically having thickness d4. Veneers 14e and 14f are typically formed of wood types and species traditionally used in the construction of hollow body stringed instrument body components as described hereinabove, while core member 18 is typically formed of a different wood type or species that may not have stiffness and/or density characteristics similar to that of veneers 14e and 14f. Hollow body stringed instrument construction of the type illustrated in FIG. 5 is commonly used to produce cheaper instruments in terms of material cost yet simulate the look of traditional solid wood instruments.
While each of the foregoing hollow body stringed instrument construction techniques illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 are viable alternatives to the traditional solid wood construction techniques, both have drawbacks associated therewith in terms of instrument performance. It is generally understood that transverse grain and non-uniform wood species laminations tend to dampen the response of a stringed instrument, and hollow body stringed instruments produced thereby are accordingly less preferred by musicians striving for excellence in tonal response.
Other hollow body stringed instrument manufacturers have sought to develop instrument construction techniques that avoid such drawbacks yet still provide alternatives to the traditional solid wood structures. For example, traditional solid wood backs and sides for steel string acoustic guitars have been replaced on some models with polymer-based bowls or domes of uniform construction in an effort to controllably direct sound from inside the instrument back to the instrument soundboard and/or to reduce material costs. As another example, steel string acoustic guitars have recently been constructed, in whole and in part, from graphite/resin compositions in an effort to provide rugged and robust instruments that attempt to replicate the tonal response of traditional solid wood instruments. However, regardless of the efficacy of such alternative construction techniques, there remains a great demand among musicians and stringed instrument collectors ranging from the most discriminating to the inexperienced novice for hollow body stringed instruments constructed of solid wood components.
Although hollow body stringed instruments constructed of solid wood components have employed a variety of different hard wood species as the back and side body components as described briefly hereinabove, two particular wood types have traditionally been used universally by individual luthiers and large-scale instrument manufacturers alike; namely mahogany and rosewood. It is generally understood that a hollow body stringed instrument constructed with a mahogany back and sides produces xe2x80x9cbrighterxe2x80x9d tones more tightly focused in the mid-range frequencies while those constructed with rosewood back and sides produce xe2x80x9cdarkerxe2x80x9d tones with comparatively better bass frequency response. Hollow body stringed instruments of both wood types are highly sought after by musicians and novices alike, and many instruments of both types have been, and continue to be, constructed. However, while mahogany continues to be sufficiently abundant, one particularly desirable species of rosewood is in short supply.
Beginning approximately in the late 1800""s, flat top acoustic guitars produced in the United States having rosewood backs and sides were typically constructed from Dalbergia Nigra, commonly known as Brazilian rosewood. This species was generally preferred by luthiers over other rosewood species in part because of its superior hardness, strength, tonal properties and aesthetic appearance, but also because of its abundance, ready availability and close proximity to U.S. guitar manufacturers. This trend continued into the 20th century, and flat top acoustic guitar production began to increase dramatically after World War II.
Around 1969, the Brazilian government placed certain restrictions on the exportation of Brazilian rosewood, requiring it to be at least partially milled within Brazil. This dramatically increased the cost of Brazilian rosewood to consumers outside of Brazil, and U.S. acoustic guitar manufacturers generally responded to this embargo by seeking out other species of rosewood for guitar fabrication. Consequently, most acoustic guitars built by major U.S. acoustic guitar manufacturers and others after 1969 with rosewood backs and sides were constructed with Indian rosewood, which was cheaper to import than Brazilian rosewood and is believed by many to be tonally similar to Brazilian rosewood, but which is somewhat less hard and far less aesthetically attractive.
In 1992, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) added Dalbergia Nigra; i.e., Brazilian rosewood, to its list under Appendix I which prohibits international commercial trade in logs, veneer, lumber, finished products and other derivatives wood species that is threatened with extinction and that are or may be affected by trade. One important exemption to the trade restrictions imposed by CITES is wood that was harvested prior inclusion of the species in Appendix I. Thus, CITES allows importation and exportation of Brazilian rosewood products if certified by the Department of the Interior that any such products are made from Brazilian rosewood that was exported from Brazil prior to inclusion in Appendix I; i.e., before March of 1992.
Although most rosewood used for acoustic guitar construction between 1970 and 1992 was of the Indian rosewood species due to the cost and/or availability of Brazilian rosewood, many guitar makers and other luthiers maintained their stockpiles of Brazilian rosewood for limited edition instrument manufacture. In addition to maintaining existing stockpiles, some lumber retailers, furniture manufacturers and the like also continued to purchase additional Brazilian rosewood for specialty projects until CITES added this species to Appendix I in June of 1992.
As a result of the 1992 CITES regulations, there exists today in the U.S. only a limited supply of Brazilian rosewood having sufficient thickness from which to construct acoustic guitar body components such as backs and sides. It is accordingly understood that unless Appendix I is amended, such a supply will soon be depleted.
It is also generally known and understood that many of the wood varieties typically used by luthiers in the construction of stringed instruments are cheaper to purchase in veneer form than in thicknesses (e.g., 0.08-0.125 inches) suitable for solid wood instrument manufacture. What is therefore needed is an improved technique for generally fabricating hollow body stringed instrument body components, such as backs, sides and/or tops, from veneer stock. Such a technique would not only reduce the cost of wood used for at least some of the body components of such instruments, but would further make efficient use of existing supplies of pre-CITES Brazilian rosewood in order to maximize the availability of such wood for future acoustic guitar construction.
The present invention comprises one or more of the following features or combinations thereof. A body component for a hollow body stringed instrument formed of a number of veneers all of a common wood species, wherein the number of veneers are arranged in juxtaposition such that the grain pattern of each veneer lies along a common orientation. The opposing faces of adjacent ones of the plurality of veneers are bonded together to form a composite veneer stack, and the composite veneer stack forms a body component for the hollow body stringed instrument. Any number of veneers may be used, and the veneers may be flitch-matched to thereby provide a composite laminate structure that closely resembles a solid wood sheet. Alternatively, the one or more of the veneers may be formed of a lower grade wood whereas the outside veneers are formed of a higher grade wood. What results is a composite laminate structure of common wood type and with common grain orientation, but wherein one or more of the interior veneers are formed of a lower grade, and accordingly cheaper, wood than that of the outside two veneers.
One object of the present invention is to provide hollow body stringed instrument fabrication techniques for providing simulated solid wood body components using wood veneers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide hollow body stringed instrument body components using such techniques.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the illustrative embodiments.